NYC’s Best Neighborhoods for Trick-or-Treating & Some Indoors Ideas!

Looking for a place to trick or treat indoors this year? You’re not alone. The weather doesn’t look great for Halloween this year, and while we’re all for braving the elements, we did find a few spots in NYC you can trick or treat inside. And, we’ve rounded up the hottest ‘hoods and events for trick-or-treating complete with spooky decorations, costume parades and candy galore! (Note that things start early, with some gatherings as early as 3:30.) If you’re looking for more family-friendly Halloween events, parties and activities that extend beyond trick-or-treating, make sure you read this Halloween round-up too. Boo!

INSIDE Trick-or-Treating Options in NYC

photo: Showfields

Noho: Trick or Treating at Showfields

This retail spot that's more like an immersive Instagram experience is doling out the Halloween fun (and candy) on the big day. Things start early so you can drop in during the day before hitting another spot in the late afternoon/evening. There will be more than 50 candy stations throughout the store for kids to visit, face painting from 3-7p.m. and (our favorite) an Instagrammable Dubble Bubble-themed photo booth (pictured).

DUMBO: Time Out New York Market

Kill two birds with one stone and head to the Time Out New York Market in DUMBO's Empire Stores for indoor trick-or-treating and, perhaps, some tasty dinner from one of the food hall's 21 vendors. From 3-6 p.m. kids can go from eatery to eatery loading up on treats, all somehow connected to the restaurant's fare. (Also, while not technically inside, DUMBOWeen, located under the Manhattan Bridge Archway, is offers fun and shelter!

3-6 p.m.Time Out New York MarketEmpire Stores55 Water St.DUMBOOnline: timeoutmarket.com

photo: Elena Olivo

Fort Greene: BAM Boo!

The Brooklyn Academy of Music's popular Halloween event, typically an outdoor street fair, is moving the party inside to stay nice and dry. Expect music, arts and crafts, candy giveaway, costume contest and more!

Upper East Side: Spooky City at the Museum of the City of NY

The museum turns into a haunted scavenger hunt for the afternoon, calling on kids to explore and find spooky tales and yummy treats among the museum's exhibits. Plus: a monster mash dance party with DJ. Advance registration is recommended.

Thurs., Oct. 312-5:30 p.m.Free with admission (Tickets: $20/adults; $14/seniors, free/ages 20 and under)Museum of the City of NY1220 Fifth Ave. at 103rd St.Upper East SideOnline: mcny.org

Midtown: Trick-or-Treat with East Midtown

While the trick-or-treating will still be outside at area businesses, Trick-or-Treat East Midtown is happening, and a tent at the welcome area at 919 Third Ave. will house fun activities and protect little ghouls and goblins rain or shine.

The tradition is now five years old and all children 12 and under (and their families) are welcome. The starting point is the plaza at 919 Third Avenue, where you can take a snap at the photo booth, get your face painted and then grab a bag and go! Visit the website for a map of participating local stores. (It's a lot!)

Manhattan

photo: Carnegie Hill Neighbors

Chelsea

Clement Clarke Moore ParkKick off trick-or-treating in Clement Clarke Moore Park — known by locals as “Seal Park”— on 10th Avenue at 22nd Street, then walk up and down the decorated brownstone blocks around the General Theological Seminary. The west side neighborhood's most popular streets for gathering the goods are 21st and 22nd Streets between Ninth and Tenth Avenues; for less of a crowd, head to the houses between Eighth and Ninth Avenues. Things kick off around 6 p.m.

Greenwich Village

Washington Square Park Halloween ParadeThey get the party started early in the Village. Gather by the iconic Washington Square Arch at 3p.m. for a kids' costume parade around the park, followed by some spooky fun with trick-or-treat bags, games and rides. You can then trick-or-treat your way through the surrounding streets of stately townhouses. Just keep in mind that starting around 6:30 p.m. the more raucous ghouls and goblins (and naughty nurses) begin to descend on the area for the neighborhood's legendary grown-up version of a Halloween Parade.

Hamilton Heights

Uptown in Hamilton Heights, head to 141st to 145th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam, where residents deck out their townhouses in a new theme each year, making for especially festive treat gathering.

Harlem

In Harlem, you can't go wrong with 121st Street, starting at Marcus Garvey Park and hitting the brownstones all the way to Frederick Douglas Boulevard.

Another great spot is Striver's Row, at 138th and 139th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard.

photo: iStock

Tribeca

Families in this downtown 'hood hit up streets like Duane, Reade and Church to score big from local businesses and resident.

photo: Mimi O'Connor

Upper West Side

West 69th Street Block Association Trick-or-TreatTrick-or-treaters flock to West 69th Street where police close the thoroughfare from Central Park West to Broadway from 4-10 p.m. Residents of the street deck out their historic townhouses with incredible displays, from ghoulish to fantastic and fun. (This tradition has been going on for a long time, and has its roots in block inhabitant and Broadway legend Gwen Verdon's desire to take her daughter trick-or-treating on the once rough-and-tumble street.) Get there early and be prepared for big crowds! (Note: the organization's web site is outdated, but we checked out the block — it's on!)

Held Oct. 31stCost: FreeCentral Park West to BroadwayOnline: w69st.com

Upper West Side: Hippo Playground Project Halloween Parade

This popular park hosts events throughout the year, and Halloween is no exception. Gather at the Soldiers and Sailors monument at 89th Street and Riverside Drive and march to the sounds of bagpipes all the way to the park. Then enjoy cider, muffins and live music.

Upper East Side

Carnegie Hill Neighbors SpooktacularEvery year, Carnegie Hill Neighbors hosts a spooky block party with a costume procession, art projects, candy treats and dancing in the streets to a lively DJ set. Trophies and prizes are awarded for best costumes by age, family and pet, and the neighborhood's most festively-festooned townhouses and storefronts are recognized as well. If your little pirates and princesses aren't sated by the gathering, wander the east 90s between Fifth and Lexington Avenues for good candy collecting and spooktacular decorations.

Trick-or-Treat with East Midtown

A tradition now five years old, East Midtown invites all children 12 and under (and their families) to go trick-or-treating with local businesses. The starting point is the plaza at 919 Third Avenue, where you can take a snap at the photo booth, get your face painted and then grab a bag and go! Visit the website for a map of participating local stores. (It's a lot!)

Queens

Forest Hills Gardens

Yet another area that will make you doubt you're in NYC, this leafy and historic enclave is a trick-or-treater's paradise, with tree-lined streets and stately single-family houses. And, there's always activity on the busy thoroughfare of Continental and 71st Aves.

photo: Mimi O'Connor

Jackson Heights

Jackson Heights Halloween ParadeThis Queens neighborhood's wildly popular Halloween Parade is the second-largest Halloween kids parade in NYC. As if marching in that wasn't enough reward in itself, at the end of the procession, all kids get goodie bags. Lineup starts around 4:30 p.m. at 37th Avenue and 89th Street. After the parade, kids hit the apartment buildings in the area to score big.

Maspeth

Kick off the evening with the annual Ragamuffin Parade sponsored by the Maspeth Lions Club. Gather at the gate of the Mt. Olivet Cemetery and parade down Grand Avenue to the Maspeth Federal Savings Bank. Everyone leaves with a treat bag and there will be prizes for the best costumes!

Middle VillageFor an authentic, suburban, small town vibe, head to Middle Village. Highly residential, with mostly single-family homes, this neighborhood contains lots of houses spooked up for the holidays (think big inflatables) and pedestrian-friendly streets for tiny trick-or-treaters. Check out the areas to the South and East of Juniper Valley Park for prime door-to-door action.

Sunnyside GardensFor a similar feel to Middle Village that’s a little easier to get to by subway (it’s a short walk from the 46th St./Bliss St. stop on the 7 line) try Sunnyside Gardens. One of New York’s first planned communities, this cohesive landmarked area’s streets of charming houses and oversized trees make for manageable and picturesque candy collecting.

Bedford Stuyvesant

16th Annual Bed-Stuy Halloween Crawl and Trick-or-TreatThere's a lot going on in Bed-Stuy on Halloween. The Stuyvesant Heights Parents Association is sponsoring a Thriller Flash Mob, a Forbidden Forest, and a Haunted Garden with festivities kicking off at 4:15 p.m. Afterwards, pick up a trick-or-treat map created by Bed-Stuy homeowners and block association members for the locations of eager candy distributors. (You can preview it here!) Should there be any doubt where the treats are flowing, just look for the orange and black balloons along the way. (Now that's full service!) To stay completely up-to-date, follow the hashtag #bedstuyboo.

Bed-Stuy Sci-fi: Menace From Mars

For years, an elaborate, free live theater production, which came to be known as "Halloween 313" would be staged at 313 Clinton Avenue. It was retired last year, and now has found new life in nearby Bed-Stuy, outside the neighborhood's Macon Library. Starting at 5:45, a recurring show about 15 minutes long will take place, until 8 p.m. This year's show has a theme of science with a distinctly alien twist. Good news: several members of that original theatrical crew at Halloween 313 are involved. Rain or shine!

Brooklyn Heights

Halloween in the HeightsIt's hard to find more festive blocks in The Heights than Garden Place and Grace Court Alley, which are blocked off from traffic in honor of the holiday. Residents go all out, constructing elaborate Halloween displays in front of the street's historic brownstones — fake coffins, life-size mummies, smoke machines, jack o’lanterns en masse, etc. It's a festive and very busy scene, so go early if you want to come out of it with treats in the bucket. For a quieter but still lovely trick-or-treating experience, head to nearby streets Remsen and Joralemon.

Clinton Hill

Clinton Hill Children’s Halloween WalkThe Clinton Hill Children’s Halloween Walk and Performance is a favorite local event, with trick-or-treating on the streets and musical performances out in front of homes. Head to Pratt-Clinton Hill Community Garden for the beginning of the parade at 5:30p.m. Parents are asked to accompany costumed kids, and the event is for children up to age Go here for a map of all the neighborhood hot spots and happenings!

Cobble Hill

Cobble Hill Halloween ParadeCostumed kids and parents cram into this small Brownstone Brooklyn neighborhood's Cobble Hill Park and then process. Afterwards, the main drag of Court Street and the surrounding blocks are filled with trick or treaters. (Venture further down Court to Carroll Gardens for even more candy and brownstones with large front gardens tricked out for the holiday.) Be on time: It's not uncommon for businesses and homes to have their candy stash completely cleared out by the festive costumed throngs.

Held 4-6 p.mClinton St. between Verandah Place and Congress St.Online: facebook.com

DUMBOween

DUMBO parties hard on Halloween, with an annual "March to the Arch" costume parade from the Brooklyn Roasting Company to the neighborhood's arch/event space. The parade kicks off at 4:30, with live music from the Funkrust Brothers, arts and crafts, a photo booth, and lots of candy!

Kensington

You can feel the excitement mounting in this residential neighborhood as Halloween approaches, as more and more decorations are added to the single-family homes. Head to the numbered blocks (3rd, 4th, 5th) between Caton and Albemarle, and make sure to hit Fourth Street, which is closed to traffic and rocks out hard, with music, games, and scores of families.

Park Slope

Park Slope Halloween ParadeFor this somewhat legendary parade, bring your costume A-game and join in at any point along the route, or enjoy the creative and creepy costumes as a spectator. If you’re marching, gather at 6:30 p.m. (or earlier) at 14th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. The parade will conclude at the Old Stone House in Washington Park on Fifth Avenue with a community gathering and dancing with the parade bands, winding down at 9 p.m. You can get started early here: in the late afternoon area businesses pass out Halloween candy to trick-or-treaters. While you're in the neighborhood, be sure to hit some of the brownstone-lined streets, where residents are known for their out-of-this-world decorations.

Windsor Terrace

South of Park Slope and north of Kensington, Windsor Terrace is a neighborhood of residential streets with lots of houses that also really get into the holiday. Head to blocks between Vanderbilt Avenue and Fort Hamilton Parkway and don't miss Third Street between Vanderbilt and Greenwod Avenues, which is closed to traffic.

The Bronx

photo: Pexels

Riverdale

The upscale 'hood of Riverdale always makes for some good candy collecting, but the area's neighbor, the community of Fieldston, is worthy of destination trick-or-treating. With much of it recognized as a landmarked historic district, the positively suburban-feeling area is filled with trees and beautiful houses that set the perfect backdrop for Halloween activities. (The varied architectural styles range from Tudor and Art and Crafts, to "manor" and "castle.") There's a good chance you'll forget you're in New York City.